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General Warns of US Plot to Bring Chemical Agents to Region

A spokesman for the General Staff of the Armed Forces cautioned against “dangerous” moves by Washington to justify its presence in the region and said a ship loaded with “chemical warfare agents” had arrived in the Persian Gulf under the escort of a US warship.

In comments released on Sunday, Brigadier General Abolfazl Shekarchi said the American ship MV Cape Ray carrying chemical materials recently docked at a port in a Persian Gulf littoral state under the escort of a US Navy destroyer, Tasnim News Agency reported.

“Past records of the American vessel show that it has been present in and around coasts near Iraq and Syria, where the Americans have taken military action under the pretext of responding to alleged chemical attacks,” he said.

Back in 2014, the US container ship Cape Ray had started to neutralize chemical materials that were once part of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's arsenal, the US Defense Department has said, Aljazeera reported.

The ship, located in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea, began processing about 600 metric tons of chemical weapons and the raw materials that could be used, Pentagon spokesman Colonel Steve Warren said at the time.

“The American vessel loaded with chemicals has entered the region with the aim of transferring these materials to parts of Iraq and Syria,” the spokesman added.

Shekarchi further warned against the possible consequences of the move, adding that the Americans have now resorted to a dangerous way to justify their unwanted, unhelpful and “illegitimate” military presence in the volatile region.

He said with their baseless and unsubstantiated charges, the US and its regional allies blamed the Syrian government for chemical attacks and raided the war-ravaged country to justify their presence in the region.